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Save energy on your own
Remember the last time your electricity bill shocked you? Well, most often it's not some power guzzler at home but our inconsiderate lifestyle that take its toll on the electricity bill. As such, even before you opt for any non-conventional source of energy, experts suggest a change in your lifestyle and some architectural corrections that can go a long way in taming the monster in your electricity bill.
Lifestyle tips
First thing first – replace all light bulbs with energy efficient tubes and CFLs. When not at home/room, make sure all electric appliances are switched off. At kitchen, overcome your fixation for microwave cookers. Microwaves consume more power, so choose LPG ovens alternatively for cooking purposes.
Think what you want to take out before you open your refrigerator. It is not an air conditioner. Don’t leave the door open. Removal of unnecessary stuff from the refrigerator together with its proper use will cut down its power consumption. Prefer water coolers over air conditioners. If you just can't do without air conditioners, then make sure that the ceiling fan is turned on while the AC is on. This would cool the room faster.
Anand Upadhyay, Senior Research Associate, Renewable Energy Technology Applications at TERI suggests, "Don't watch TV for hours. Instead, go out for an evening walk with family or engage in some physical activity. Also, spread out your time at home for different activities. If you are working on your PC, keep the TV off. These days many families have two TVs – one for parents and one for kids. But, this little luxury can take its toll on your electricity bill."
Upadhyay adds that one must not get carried away by advertisements and stop copying the west. "Today we have HDTVs. HDTVs have a hard drive that can store programmes, pause live shows and replay, etc. But these operations consume energy. Even though LCD TVs tend to consume less energy, but with all these features, energy consumption goes up," says he. Painting the house and roof with light colour reflects off the light and heat, and keeps the house cool.
Architectural tips
What do you do when you stand facing the sun while speaking to someone? You face away from the sun. It's same with buildings also. If eyes are the windows of our soul, windows are the eyes of our buildings. So the first thing that needs to be taken care of is – right orientation of the house in the right direction – position the windows away from the sun.
Also, make sure that the house does not have too much glass area. And wherever there is glass area, it should have the right orientation and adequately shaded. Use good curtains for your windows. Curtains are made up of cloth, which have very low conductivity. This is the reason why old havelis in our country, even old forts had carpets on walls and thick curtain drapes.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com